U.S. Congressional Forum on Laos
August 22 2003
9:00 A.M.-1:00 P.M., Wednesday, October 15, 2003
U.S. House of Representatives - Washington, D.C.
Draft 2.3 - News Advisory & Agenda
(Including Text of New Legislation)
For Immediate Release:
Washington, D.C., October 15, 2003
Contact: Ms. Anna Jones or Mr. Philip Smith
Tele. (202) 543-14444 Fax (202) 318-0266
A special session of the U.S. Congressional Forum on Laos will be held in
response to rapidly changing events in Southeast Asia and significant
developments in Washington, D.C. regarding Laos.
Recent legislative and policy developments in the U.S. Congress regarding
Laos will be discussed along with new reports by Amnesty International and
other independent sources about the current humanitarian, human rights and
ethnic cleansing crisis in Laos. The United Nation's action regarding
Laos--recently undertaken by the Commission on Racial Discrimination--
will also be detailed.
Major new U.S. Congressional initiatives and policy issues—including new
legislative action -- will be discussed in the context of the emerging
humanitarian and refugee crisis in Laos and the recent visit to the United
States, and Washington, D.C., of a senior-level delegation of Lao
Communist officials.
The event is cosponsored by Members of Congress, including Rep. Dan Burton
(R-IN), Rep. Ralph Hall (D-TX), Rep. Mark Green (R-WI), Rep. Patrick
Kennedy (D-RI), Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) and others.
KEY TOPICS INCLUDE:
* New legislation jointly introduced by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) Rep.
Ralph Hall (D-TX), Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), Rep. Mark Green (R-WI) and
others to promote democracy, human rights and religious freedom in Laos,
and for other purposes;
2. Amnesty International’s recent report about the use of starvation
as a weapon of war against the Hmong people of Laos;
* U.S. Congressional letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell signed
by by Rep. Mark Green (R-WI) and five Members of Congress--as well as a
letter by Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)-- urging that Laos be categorized as a
Country of Particular Concern (CPC) as recommended by the U.S. Commission
on International Religious Freedom;
* Developments and new information regarding the Hmong and Laotian
refugee crisis at Wat Tham Krabok will also be discussed.
Welcome & Opening Remarks:
Mr. Philip Smith, Executive Director, Center for Public Policy Analysis
Invited Policymakers, Members of Congress & Staff
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI),
Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN)
Rep. Mark Green (R-WI)
Rep. Ralph Hall (D-TX)
Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)
Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA)
Senator Herbert Kohl (D-WI)
Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI)
Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN)
Other Members of Congress & U.S. Senators
Amnesty International
U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom
U.S. Department of State
National Democratic Institute
International Republican Institute
World Bank
IMF
Others.
First Panel Speakers
Colonel Wangyee Vang, Lao Veterans of America, Inc. (Fresno, CA) &
Tong Vue, Lao Veterans of America, Inc. (Pennsylvania);
Dr. Sin Vilay, United Lao Action Committee & General Assembly of
Delegates of Laotians Abroad (GADLA—Arizona);
Thongsavanh Phongsavan, Lao-American Council (North Providence, RI)
Stephen Vang, Southeast Asia Scholar & Researcher, University of
Wisconsin and Director, United Hmong-Lao Congress for Democracy, Inc. (WI);
Zongkhang Yang, Director, Hmong-Lao Emergency Crisis Task Force (St.
Paul, MN);
Others.
Second Panel Speakers
Laura Xiong, Hmong International Human Rights Watch (Omaha, NE);
Bounthone Rathigna, United League for Democracy in Laos, Inc. (VA);
Dr. William Bouarouy, Ph.D. (PA);
Baramy Mittivong, United Lao Action Committee (VA);
Thongchanh Boulum, United League for Democracy in Laos, Inc. (VA);
Joe Bee Xiong, Hmong-American Community leader (WI);
Others.
The following is the text of new legislation introduced in Congress
regarding Laos:
107th Congress
H. RES._______
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the urgent
need for freedom, democratic reform, and international monitoring of
elections, human rights, and religious liberty in the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Nunes of California, Mr.
Green of Wisconsin, Mr. Chabot of Ohio, and Mr. Shays of Connecticut
submitted the following resolution
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the urgent
need for freedom, democratic reform, and international monitoring of
elections, human rights, and religious liberty in the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic.
Whereas, in 1975, the Kingdom of Laos, a constitutional monarchy and
important ally of the United States during the Vietnam War, was overthrown
by the Marxist Lao People’s Revolutionary Party with the assistance of the
People’s Army of North Vietnam;
Whereas the Lao People’s Democratic Republic was established as a
one-party regime in 1975 following the communist takeover;
Whereas tens of thousands of Laotian and Hmong people, a prominent
highland minority group, were killed or died at the hands of Communist
forces while attempting to flee the Lao communist regime, and many others
perished in reeducation arid labor camps;
Whereas tens of thousands of Laotian and Hmong became refugees, eventually
resettling in the United States where they now reside as American citizens
and lead constructive lives as members of their communities;
Whereas the only political party allowed by law in Laos is the communist
Lao People’s Revolutionary Party;
Whereas, in 1989, Laos held its first elections since the establishment of
the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, but only candidates who were
approved by the communist Lao People’s Revolutionary Party were allowed to
seek public office;
Whereas, in 1991, Laos adopted its first constitution which purports to
guarantee the people of Laos a wide range of freedoms, including the
freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion;
Whereas the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Congress meets every five
years arid controls or influences the organs of the state in Laos,
including the armed forces, the security services, and the National Assembly;
Whereas the Lao People’s
Revolutionary Party promulgates the five-year state plains that control
the economy and do not need to receive the approval of the National Assembly;
Whereas, in 1999, peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations held by Laotian
students in the capital of Vientiane calling for political and economic
reforms were suppressed by force by the Lao government, which arrested
many of the students;
Whereas Amnesty international reports that many Laotian student leaders
from the 1999 pro-democracy demonstrations continue to be held by the Lao
government and languish in the Lao prison system or remain unaccounted for;
Whereas, in 2001, Olivier Dupuis, a Member of the European Parliament, was
arrested and jailed in Laos along with a group of pro-democracy activists
after peacefully protesting for the release of the Lao students and for
democratic and human rights reforms in Laos;
Whereas international election monitors are currently not permitted to
enter Laos to monitor elections;
Whereas Laos remains a one-party communist state that continues to
prohibit the organizing of opposition political parties to the Lao
People’s Revolutionary Party;
Whereas, in 2002, elections for the Lao People’s Democratic National
Assembly were held nearly a year earlier than scheduled and excluded all
candidates from political parties other than the Lao People’s
Revolutionary Party, as well as all overseas Laotians;
Whereas Amnesty international and other independent human rights
organizations are not permitted to enter Laos to monitor or investigate
the human rights situation or reports of alleged human rights violations;
Whereas, in 2003, the United States Commission on international Religious
Freedom issued a country report on
religious persecution in Laos, recommending that the President designate
Laos as a "country of particular concern";
Whereas the Department of State reported in its most recent Country Report
on Human Rights Practices in Laos that Laos restricts its citizens from
enjoying the freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion, and from
undertaking activities to change their government;
Whereas, in 2003, the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Racial
Discrimination stated that the Lao government had failed to honor its
obligations, and the Committee expressed its grave concerns at the
information it had received of serious and repeated human rights
violations in Laos;
Whereas, in October 2003, Amnesty International issued a statement
detailing its concern about the use of starvation by the Lao government as
a weapon of war against civilians in Laos and the deteriorating situation
facing thousands of family members of ethnic minority groups,
predominantly the Hmong;
Whereas, in 2003, Amnesty International’s international Secretariat, in a
statement further detailing its concerns about Laos, condemned in the
strongest terms the use of starvation as a weapon of war against civilians
and cited it as a clear and serious violation of the Geneva Conventions
that Laos has ratified;
Whereas because many Laotians and Hmong, including those in the overseas
communities, are not members of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, they
do not meet with its approval as political candidates, but they are
nevertheless successful businessmen, technocrats, and community and
religious leaders with democratic aspirations and concern for the people
of Laos; and
Whereas the United States has a vital interest in the worldwide promotion
of democratic principles and respect for human rights, and supports
democratic reforms in Laos:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives strongly
supports the following points and urges the Government
of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the United Nations, the European
Union, and the Association of South East Asian Nations—
(1) to work to provide unrestricted access to Laos by international
election monitors for upcoming presidential and National Assembly elections;
(2) to work to provide unrestricted access
to Laos, including special closed military zones and closed provinces, by
international human rights organizations, the United Nations, the United
States Commission on International Religions Freedom, and humanitarian
aid organizations;
(3.) to work to ensure that opposition
political parties and their candidates are allowed to run for public
office in multi-party elections without regard to gender, race,
ethnicity, religion, economic standing, or political affiliation, and
that all adult citizens of Laos, including overseas Laotian citizens, are
permitted to vote and run for public office;
(4) to allow the citizens of Laos to assemble
and peacefully protest against the Government of Laos, the Lao People’s
Revolutionary Party, and individual public officials, and to freely
organize opposition groups and independent political parties;
(5) to heed the call by the United
Nations Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination for the Lao
People’s Revolutionary Party to halt immediately all acts of violence
against the Hmong population and provide them with humanitarian assistance;
(6) to work to gain the immediate
release of those students and their family members arrested and jailed in
connection with the 1999 pro-democracy demonstrations, as well as all
other political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, and those jailed for
their religious beliefs or ethnicity; and
(7) to work to implement the
recommendations of the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom with respect to promoting religious freedom in Laos.
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